Understanding Buildings and Contents Insurance For Your Home

Insuring your home against damage and loss is incredibly important; otherwise you could run the risk of losing everything. Whether you’re renting, sharing or even buying your first home you should always be sure of what insurance you need. Everyone knows that home insurance is split into buildings and contents categories, but you might not know exactly what will and will not be covered. Here’s a little guide to home insurance.

Buildings Insurance – This will cover the structural elements of your home, from outbuildings to permanent fixtures and fittings. Driveways, fences, patios and windows are normally covered as well, sometimes for accidental damage. Buildings insurance is essential for the wellbeing of your property as you need to be covered in the event of a fire, or for any unknown structural complications. You can sometimes also be covered for the cost of finding alternative accommodation if, following an event, your property cannot be lived in for some time. Buildings insurance is pretty straightforward, but you should always read the exact wording of any policy you wish to take out to ensure you understand it all. And if there’s anything you need explaining then just ask the policy provider.

Contents Insurance – This will cover, as the name suggests, the contents of your home. You’ll need to inform your insurance company of exactly what items your own and how much they’re worth so that the total value can be calculated and your insurance policy worked out accordingly. You can often cover certain items such as electrical goods for accidental damage, and most insurers will allow for this on a standard policy. If you’ve got any really valuable items then you must be sure to tell insurance companies of this, as some will have a maximum value for one single item, and a failure to declare could mean that item is not covered. Anything which would not normally be found in a home should also be declared, and this can be anything from specialist sports equipment (skis, surf boards) to collectable artwork. Santander home insurance offers an easy to understand breakdown on their website at www.santander.co.uk, with a simple table to tell you what is insured as standard and up to what value. You can look on price comparison websites to find a good quote, but insurers are increasingly offering better deals for customers who go directly to their website. Santander for example are currently offering 20% off home insurance on their website, so you should keep an eye out for deals such as this.

Lastly, the best thing you can do in terms of protecting your home is to be vigilant. Make sure your doors have multiple locks, and that these are used, preferably with bolts, when you go to bed at night. A working burglar alarm should always be installed, and window alarms are an affordable but effective way to make your home that bit more secure.